Marble Palace
The view of the Marble Palace from the Neva River. Credit: A.Savin / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0
A branch of the Russian Museum, the Marble Palace, with its lavish interiors and a splendid collection of art, is a fine example of neoclassical architecture. Among its recent on-screen appearances, the palace can be seen in Major Grom: Plague Doctor (2021) – the second movie in the Major Grom franchise that continues the story of Igor Grom, an honest and uncompromising police officer, as he confronts a fierce mask-wearing villain. In this film, the Marble Palace portrays a stronghold of the law – an immense police station where Igor works.
Other locations in the film: Palace Square, Alexandrinsky Theatre, Peter and Paul Fortress, Yelagin Palace, Ciniselli Circus, and others.
National Library of Russia
The National Library of Russia on Moskovsky Prospekt. Credit: Florstein / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0
The quiet, uniquely beautiful halls of the National Library of Russia on Moskovsky Prospekt appear in The Master and Margarita (2023) – a wonderful adaptation that blends author Mikhail Bulgakov’s biography with his novel of the same name. But in this movie, the library doesn’t play itself – it turns into an asylum. The building’s signature cascading staircase is most distinguishable when Margarita visits the hospital to see The Master.
Other locations in the film: Moscow Square, Russian Museum of Ethnography, and others.
St. Michael's Castle
St. Michael’s Castle. Credit: Godot13 / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0
St. Michael’s Castle is the only fortress in the city’s downtown, a silent witness of several historical events – and one of the locations to be observed in The Silver Skates (2020). In the film, the eight-sided courtyard of St. Michael's Castle transforms into a brightly-lit skating rink where two main characters – an aristocrat from a noble family and a lowborn courier on skates – have their first proper meeting.
Other locations in the film: Peter and Paul Fortress, Vitebsky Railway Station, Marble Palace, Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design, Fountain House, and others.
Atlantes of the Hermitage
The Atlantes at the entrance of the Hermitage Museum. Credit: Yair Haklai / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0
In the 2018 threequel to What Men Talk About, the famous foursome of comedians goes to St. Petersburg and does what every tourist has to do – explore the city by foot. One of the first destinations on their way is the Hermitage Museum and in particular the ten Atlantes that have been guarding the museum’s entrance for over 150 years now. The legend has it that rubbing the toes of the second giant will bring you luck – and the movie’s quartet is there to test it.
Other locations in the film: Monument to the Invisible Man, Palace Bridge, Palace Square, Malaya Sadovaya St., and others.
Rose Pavilion
The Rose Pavilion in Pavlovsk Park. Credit: Игорь Гордеев / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0
On par with the Palace, the Rose Pavilion is one of the must-see gems to be found in Pavlovsk Park. This white-and-yellow wooden building surrounded by multicolored rose bushes seems to be an oasis amidst the seemingly endless park – and it indeed acts like one in the film The Poet (2024). The pavilion was chosen as a land of peace that illustrates the family life of poet Alexander Pushkin and his wife Natalia Goncharova before it takes a sudden turn.
Other locations in the film: Yusupov Palace, Stroganov Palace, St. Michael's Castle, State Academic Capella, Pushkin Apartment Museum, Pavlovsk Park, and others.
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